SB chair reports progress in St. Gerard’s talks

The chair of the Select Board reported earlier this week that negotiations are progressing between the Boston Archdiocese and the town on the sale of the former St. Gerard Majella Church property, and a deal could possibly be completed soon.

“We could be a few weeks away,” noted Mike Loughran.

Loughran said Town Counsel Paul DeRensis and his law firm are leading the negotiations with the Archdiocese on behalf of the town. The Select Board, with backing of a special election vote in December, have been authorized to borrow up to $3.305 million to complete the purchase, with the debt being financed over a period of 20 years.

The remaining issues are environmental in nature, although officials were encouraged by the findings of an initial Phase I report, which showed no concerns after a review of public records of nearby properties. Part of the negotiations involves the environmental history of the five-acre buildable site.

Loughran said the board asked for a “deeper dive” with core soil samples taken of abutting properties and are awaiting review of those samples. “We don’t anticipate any major problems,” he said.

Loughran said it would be premature at this point to plan any public forums to discuss future uses of the property, although he said members of the board have been thinking about it. He did make it clear that there will not be any town meeting action on the property in 2022.

“We are not in a huge rush. We want it done right,” he said.

Loughran said the $3.305 million authorized by voters is sufficient and the board will not need to seek any additional funds to complete the sale.

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Posted by Mike Berger on Feb 25 2022. Filed under News, Town Government. Both comments and pings are currently closed.